Sporting News And Holiday Inn Combine To Keep "Finger On The Pulse"

When you're talking "Generation X" and you're talking "techno-savvy" and you're talking "buzz, baby" ... you're talking Holiday Inn and you're talking The Sporting News. (Ed. Note: The "Sporting" "News" was a magazine that your parents once read, back when people had to pedal their cars. Check that, your grandparents. Today it's mainly used as a place for Bob Costas to wax nostalgic about. Carry on.) According to the press release that just arrived in our mailbox, Holiday Inn and TSN are going to provide a way "to meet the needs of brand-conscious, peer-focused, tech-savvy Gen X travelers."

The focus-group-installed slogan for "Gen X:" "Work hard, play harder." We're totally going to check into a Holiday Inn sponsored by The Sporting News right now, because we want to Play Hard.

Full release after the jump:

(By the way, an apology to the PR guy who sent us this release: We thought you were a reader sending us this press release to make fun of, and responded back with "Ha. That's hysterical." We can understand your confusion. Sorry. Heh.)

SPORTING NEWS PARTNERS WITH HOLIDAY INN HOTELS AND RESORTS TO CREATE SPORTS RESTAURANTS FOR GEN X New York, NY and St. Louis, MO (September 20, 2005) Sporting News, the nation s premier source for sports information and entertainment since 1886, today announces it is joining forces with Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts, the world s most recognized hotel brand, to develop Sporting News-branded restaurants for Holiday Inn Select hotels as part of the hotel brand s repositioning effort aimed at Generation X. The announcement comes from the InterContinental Hotels Group Americas Investors Conference in Las Vegas, where Holiday Inn today unveils full details of the new Holiday Inn Select Gen-X concept for franchisees. The alliance brings together two iconic industry pioneers and represents a first-of-its-kind sports media partnership for Holiday Inn, and the first hospitality partnership for Sporting News. Embodying the Gen X philosophy of work hard, play harder, Sporting News Grill venues will be contemporary, fun and engaging environments for action-oriented travelers and the local community, emotionally connecting guests to Americans passion for sports. Sporting News will come to life with d cor elements like large current Sporting News magazine covers, vintage black-and-white photographs from Sporting News famous archives, sports memorabilia and other reflections of the sports media brand. Sporting News Grills will be able to accommodate local events and may feature live broadcasts from Sporting News Radio. U.S. Travel industry research shows Gen X will account for more than 349 million room nights this year alone, making it the fastest growing travel demographic. With that in mind, Holiday Inn today debuts a unique brand-within-a-brand approach to repositioning its Holiday Inn Select line extension to meet the needs of brand-conscious, peer-focused, tech-savvy Gen X travelers. Holiday Inn Select is being transformed into the perfect home for those who work hard and play harder - that's a great description of the passionate sports fans who love Sporting News, noted Rick Allen, president and CEO of Sporting News. Together, the two companies will create the ideal place for travelers and locals to unwind. Holiday Inn Select and Sporting News expect to begin rolling out the Sporting News Grill concept early next year, and will include them in all 91 existing Holiday Inn Select properties by the end of 2006. All new-build Holiday Inn Select properties will include a Sporting News Grill as part of their suite of branded offerings designed with Gen X in mind.

As a strategic partner, Sporting News provides the credibility and authenticity we know Gen X demands, said Mark Snyder, senior vice president of brand management for Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts in the Americas. The addition of a Sporting News Grill at every Holiday Inn Select property allows us to provide guests the social experience and convenience they want in a brand they know and trust.